FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR TOM RIDGE: Thank you. Tonight I speak to you with a grateful heart and enormous pride.

I speak to you as one friend about another.

About a proven leader... a world statesman... an untiring and effective public servant. I speak to you about a warrior...who has sometimes stood alone... or shown the way... in fighting for the most vulnerable of our citizens... for the country he so dearly loves... and for the founding principles we all so deeply cherish.

I speak to you about a friend – who was first pointed out to me – in the same way he is proudly pointed out wherever he goes today – "That's John McCain."

John and I have been friends for 26 years.

Both of us got elected to Congress in 1982 and both of us are Vietnam veterans.

Some might say that is our common bond. For certainly the Vietnam experience is a uniting one.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – Comedian Eugene Mirman would have arrived at the “CNN Grill” earlier had he not been detained by the U.S. Secret Service for his pants – apparently puffs of smoke were pouring out of one of his pockets.

“I was wearing a helmet and some goggles, and then I had some instant food that when you pulled the cord, the food heated up. What I didn’t know about the food I bought, which is my fault, is that it starts smoking,” he explained.

Mirman is at the Republican convention producing a series of funny, original videos for a Web site. If you’re trying to place the face: think the landlord in HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords.”

The comedian had rave reviews for the Secret Service, however, who he described as “extremely polite.”

(CNN)– I'm trying so hard to care about what Lindsey Graham has to say.

"Thank God," he said, "for Joe Lieberman." Well, okay. Sure, Lindsey. You can have him. But I love the notion that the Republicans would cheer for a pro-choice (including supporting so-called "partial birth abortion"), pro-gay-rights, anti-tax cut member of the eastern elite.

Graham is a pleasant man, but he should leave the rough stuff to folks like Governor Palin. Poor Lindsey is miscast as an attack dog, more like a pit puppy. Even McCain calls him "Lindsey-boy." But nice try Senator Graham.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came out swinging Wednesday night, but it's going to take more than just fighting words to win over the independent and undecided voters who hold the election in their hands.

Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention marked her first major address as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

The Alaska governor tore into Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as two-faced, arrogant and unable to lead while she painted Republican candidate John McCain as courageous reformer who is ready to take charge.

Her prime time address was full of humor and sarcasm. Her tone was a hit with delegates watching in St. Paul, Minnesota, but it didn't resonate well with everyone outside of the Republican circle.

"She came across as angry and overconfident," said Kuntal Warwick, an independent voter from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Palin had little to say about policy, and her speech was full "of smugness and mockery," Warwick said.

Independents like Warwick, combined with voters who have yet to make up their mind, are the ones who could decide who ends up in the White House.

"The base of the Democratic and Republican parties - their votes are predictable," said John Avlon, author of "Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics." "It's the swing voters who decide who's going to carry the balance of power, who will ultimately win that election state-by-state and even nationwide."

Avlon didn't have a problem with Palin's tone. He said her humor and confidence will probably appeal to the independents, but it's the lack of substance that will leave that group in search of something more.

(CNN) - The Republican National committee has released excperts of Cindy McCain's speech Thursday night:

On Americans' duty to their country:
"That duty is what brings me before you tonight. And it's much larger and more important than just me or John or any of us: It's the work of this great country calling us together – and there is no greater duty than that, no more essential task for our generation - right now."

On John McCain's character:
"It's going to take someone of unusual strength and character – someone exactly like my husband – to lead us through the reefs and currents that lie ahead. I know John. You can trust his hand at the wheel."